Singapore, as a small island country, has depended mostly on water supplies from neighboring Malaysia for a long time. Low Pei Chin, a water engineer from the government, told reporters from Agency France—Press, "Singapore is short of natural resources. That is why we are always looking for ways to explore water resources. One major plan is to "collect every drop" and "reuse endlessly."
The government has created a highly developed system that turns wastewater into drinkable water. Reused wastewater can meet 40 percent of Singapore's water need. The government expects to meet 55 percent of the need by the year 2060.
Most of the water is used for micro—chip producing factories. But some of it is added to the country's drinking water supplies. The system also helps reduce ocean pollution, as only a small amount of the treated water is sent into the sea. According to the United Nations, 80 percent of the world's wastewater runs back into the oceans without being treated or reused.
The Changi Water Reclamation Plant on Singapore's eastern coast is the main part of the country's recycling system. The system has a network of tunnels and high—technology treatment centers. Parts of the water treatment centers are underground and wastewater enters the center through a 48—kilometer tunnel. In one building, a network of air flow systems has been put in place to keep the water smelling as fresh as possible. When waste arrives at the plant, it goes through cleaning process before powerful pumps send it to areas above ground for more treatment. There, the treated water receives the last process, through which bacteria and viruses are cleared out. Every day, this large center can treat up to 900,000,000 liters of wastewater.
Now the country also continues to enlarge its recycling system. It will add another underground tunnel and a major water treatment center to serve the western part of the island. The government expects work on the center to be completed by 2025. By the time the project is finished, Singapore will have spent about $7. 4 billion on its water treatment systems.
